On Jason, Freddy, and Being Persistent

You can?t keep a good guy down. According to horror movie logic, you can?t keep a homicidal killer down either. What really keeps moviegoers coming back to the same tired franchise over and over: the brilliant plotlines and impeccable acting or the fact that dudes like Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, and Jason Voorhees just won?t quit? I tend to think it?s the latter. I mean, have you seen ?Jason X??

Which are you

What drives these cold-blooded, box office-busting maniacs to go on? I mean, how many times can you get shot, burned, stabbed, beaten, and chained underneath a lake before enough is enough? I, for one, would probably have given up the act after being blown up by a pipe bomb as Freddy was in ?Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.?

I?m not condoning the senseless murder of camp counselors or trick-or-treaters. I just thought the persistence of horror movie villains would be a great way to bring up the importance of perseverance in accomplishing real-life goals. Heck, you guys are probably too busy thinking of all the girls in slutty kitten costumes you?ll see this week to pay attention to a web article, so I had to get your attention somehow.

Following a goal isn?t something you do halfheartedly. Success takes intense devotion, something that a weaker-willed man just can?t handle. You can?t start a Fortune 500 business or win a gold medal by half-assing it. No, you?ve got to give it your all and keep plugging away until you?ve succeeded.

People keep paying hard-earned cash to see unstoppable killers like Freddy and Jason do their thing. No matter how many times they?ve been had, you know they?ll come back to wreak havoc on suburbia once again.

Would you root for a villain who gave up after their first bullet to the brain? Would Michael Myers be as badass if he?d quit after being shot down by that weird British psychiatrist at the end of ?Halloween?? Of course not. Michael didn?t give up. He got right up and proceeded to terrorize Laurie Strode in ?Halloween II? and eventually get his way, killing Laurie in ?Halloween: Resurrection.? You go, Michael!

Think about something you want to accomplish? Want to run your own business? Looking to run your first marathon? Want to write the next Great American Novel? No matter what your goal is, you?ve got to be ready to give it your all if you hope to actually succeed. You?ve got to put in the time and effort and tell naysayers to screw off. You?ve got to keep at it like you know Jason or Freddy would, just without all that messy murdering and terrorizing stuff.

While you?re having a blast dressing up like your favorite pop culture character (I?m going as Walt White this year) and drinking pumpkin ale this week, keep your goals in mind. If you want to succeed, be ready to go to hell and back to get there. Just keep Chucky out of it.